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Update Under the Dog Live on Kickstarter $110,000 Closer

Aug 12th 2014

TOKYO... After coming off a warm reception at Otakon this past weekend, Under the Dog, the sci-fi thriller anime being funded through Kickstarter, has succeeded in raising over $110,608, which is over 19% of its $580,000 goal, doing so with the backing of over 1,300 people. If they reach their funding target by the ending date, September 7, 2014, they will create a 24-minute pilot anime episode.

Many of the anime's staff was present at Otakon including Jiro Ishii, who wrote the original story, Character Designer Yusuke Kozaki, who also designed the characters in Fire Emblem: Awakening and No More Heroes, and Producer Hiroaki Yura who is also involved with the successful Project Phoenix video game. In addition to these veterans, Under the Dog will be directed by Masahiro Ando, whose credits include Sword of the Stranger, Hanasaku Iroha, and Blast of Tempest and will involve the animation studio Kinema Citrus, which has worked on anime like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Black Bullet, Barakamon, and the Eureka Seven movie, and Orange Co. which handles the CGI for titles like Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Macross Frontier, Code Geass, and the Evangelion Rebuild movies.

During the Otakon panels, Producer Hiroaki Yura emphasized that Under the Dog's choice for Kickstarter as a funding platform was a conscious one because he wanted to avoid the restrictions that risk-averse anime production committees placed upon creators. At one point, Producer Yura showed his frustrations with production committees when he exclaimed, “I'm sick and tired of the investors telling me 'If it only sells in Japan, it's OK.' No it is not OK!"

The team also showed the Under the Dog trailer. Its content brings to mind older sci-fi anime like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Indeed, Under the Dog takes place in 2025 in Neo Tokyo, five years after a devastating terrorist attack at the Tokyo Olympics. In the wake of the tragedy, the U.N. formed a covert ops unit dedicated to seeking out, then eliminating those responsible for the attack. Anthea Kallenberg, a girl of Swedish descent is a member of this elite group. She has honed her combat abilities and has become a deadly assassin, but must come to terms as to who she really is.

In all, the message, along with the trailer, has resonated with anime fans. So far, Under the Dog has already sold out its limited $20 “Early Bird” Recruiter tier and has added a $25 unlimited recruiter tier for those who are still interested in the digital download of the anime. Under the Dog has also added a new $60 tier for a Region-free Blu-ray/DVD combo. Other rewards include being able to help choose the actors who will voice the anime's main characters, receive autographed products like shikishi, and even visit Japan to listen in on a voice recording session and meet the staff. Once the funding target has been hit, work will begin on the anime, and it is expected to be released in late 2015.
About Under the Dog

Under the Dog is a Kickstarter project looking to fund an independent anime and present it to the world. Founded in Tokyo, Japan in 2013 based on material written in 1994-1995, Under the Dog will be working to bring the science fiction setting to life, releasing it to worldwide audiences by late-2015.
Visit www.under-the-dog.com and Facebook: www.facebook.com/Underthedogpr and Twitter: @underthedogpr for more information.

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